At long last, our inaugural volume is online for your viewing pleasure. These are our storied storytellers who made it possible.
When I first began this venture with the poetry assistance of my good friend and fellow writer Rachael Matthews, I certainly did not expect the influx of writing that we received. In fact, that is precisely why we began accepting submissions in November for an issue not due to publish until March. It's our first one—who would even know that we're here? Who would submit their work to a journal with no issues behind it? Surely, a four-month submission period would elicit a few stories and poems to choose from.
We threw a little money into Instagram and Facebook ads targeted to the writing community, stepped up our Twitter game, and hoped for the best.
Over the course of our arduous four-month submissions period, the writing community showed up in a huge way: Hearth & Coffin received a staggering number of submissions, for our first issue anyway.
It is sufficient to say we were busy this past holiday season and on into the break of spring.
Reading a stream of exceptional works of fiction (and a touch of nonfiction!) between rounds to turkey and stuffing, gift-giving, and verses of Auld Lang Syne? I wouldn't have it any other way.
TL;DR? In essence, thank you. Thank you for the submissions, the support, and your presence reading here today. We could not have this issue for you today if it weren't for the remarkable writers listed below and the many others whose works were equally thrilling, but didn't make it into Conception.
You are all champions. Hearth & Coffin couldn't be happier to have read each and every tale, couplet, and poured-out soul to have entered our inbox.
Without further ado, we're pleased to present the featured writers of Issue One: Conception.
Featured authors and poets for Issue One: Conception
Fiction
"Motorcycle Man" | Brian Coughlan
"The Great Night Wolf" | E.M. Duffield-Fuller
"It Came at Night" | Millie Holden
"Something New" | David Keane
"Letterbox" | Olivia Lowenberg
"The Day Zikru Died" | James Marchiori
"Breakout" | Richard Risemberg
"Super LeMans" | Ed White
"Regression" | Jane Witte
Nonfiction
Hormongesteuert ist immerhin selbstbestimmt (excerpt) | Franca Parianen
Poetry
"Carry on Conceiving" | Lisa Armstrong
"The Concept of Love" | Lisa Armstrong
"Skyclad" | Amanda Auchter
"This is Not a Fairytale" | Amanda Auchter
"Career Opportunities" | T. J. Dennett
"How to Write a Poem" | T. J. Dennett
"It Starts with Pheasants" | T. J. Dennett
"My Condolence" | Emma Ejoh
"Strands" | Alexis Fedorjaczenko
"Ode to Womanhood" | Irving Gamboa
"The Beach" | Anthony Kelly
"Agnostic" | Kelly Lenox
"Brink of Night" | Kelly Lenox
"A Memory More Photogenic" | Kelly Lenox
"Ideals of Abstraction" | James Marchiori
"Here It Is" | James Marchiori
"Mosaics as Puzzles" | James Marchiori
"Comparable miracles" | Kevin McIlvoy
"The fourth" | Kevin McIlvoy
"Another miracle in the life of Sam Sierra" | Kevin McIlvoy
"Bearing" | Taylor Moessinger
"Fallacy" | Froso Papadimitriou
"Origins" | Froso Papadimitriou
"The Indistinct Path" | Ben Tufnell
"The Wolf in Your Mouth" | Ben Tufnell
"The Wolf We Dreamed" | Ben Tufnell
"Redemption" | M. L. Woldman